


let's go; don't wait

by parchmints



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Canon Universe, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, M/M, POV Lance (Voltron), because I said so, gratuitous amounts of blushing, lance is a gentleman, only a dash of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parchmints/pseuds/parchmints
Summary: “Do you wanna go on a date with me?”orLance takes Keith on a space picnic.





	let's go; don't wait

**Author's Note:**

> This is a giveaway fic for one of my lovely followers on tumblr [mrrayl](http://mrrayl.tumblr.com/)! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Big shout out to [Emma](http://riptidelance.tumblr.com/) and [Brigid](http://angst-in-space.tumblr.com/) for being my betas! They seriously helped me out with this one phew...
> 
> The title's from "First Date" by Blink-182 because I went to middle school in the early 2000s ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Enjoy!

“Green bologna sandwiches?”

“Check.”

“Food goo potstickers with mystery Arusian dipping sauce?”

“Double check.”

“Alkarion salad with distilled food goo dressing?”

“Check-ity check!”

Scratching a finger against his cheek, Lance looked over his list and back at the picnic basket. “Are you sure that’s it, Hunk? It looks empty.”

“I got ya, buddy,” Hunk said, a big grin blooming on his face as he pulled out a small container from the castle kitchen’s cooling unit. “I was saving this for a rainy day, but I think it’s better suited for something like this anyway.”

With a flourish, Hunk removed the top of the container to reveal a delicate, powder white slice of cake adorned with little purple fruits reminiscent of raspberries.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! That’s not…?”

“Oh, it is.”

“The Assixion Selberry cake?!” Lance exclaimed, his jaw hitting the floor. Assix was the planet they had liberated from the Galra only a week prior and the humanoid inhabitants of the planet had celebrated their newfound freedom by throwing the Paladins of Voltron an impressive feast. It had probably been the best food they had ever eaten since being out in space and, of all the incredible dishes, the Selberry cake had been the real standout.

It was tart but sweet and its texture reminded Lance of pastel de tres leches with how every bite melted in your mouth. The flavors had reminded all the Paladins so much of home that they were disappointed they hadn’t left more room for dessert.

“It sure is!” Hunk said as he returned the lid to the container and placed it in the Altean picnic basket Coran had fished out of storage for Lance. “After the feast, I asked the Queen if I could check out the kitchens and the cook gave me some for the road.”

“Buddy, I really appreciate what you’re doin’ but you don’t have to--”

“Ah bup bup bup! No way, dude. My best friend is goin’ on his first date with his soon-to-be boyfriend and I’d be neglecting my best friend duties if I didn’t make sure you had dessert on your romantic picnic.”

“Aw, _Hunk_ ,” Lance said, his face sinking into his palms as he placed his elbows on the counter. “Don’t say the ‘b’ word.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because he might not want to be, y’know, ‘b’ words. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna realize half-way through the date that he’s way out of my league and that this entire dating idea was a huge mistake.”

“Lance, seriously? After everything, you still don’t think he _likes_ you?”

Lance groaned and unmasked his face. “I dunno, man. Maybe he does, but what if I screw everything up and he doesn’t like me anymore? What if he hates the date?”

“You’ve been planning this all week. He’s gonna love it, dude! I promise. Just try and have fun, okay? You know Keith, Lance. He wouldn’t have said yes to this unless he absolutely meant it. I bet he’s just as nervous as you are.”

Hunk ended his pep talk by wrapping a big arm around Lance’s shoulders to bring him in for a hearty half-hug. Lance sighed and gave Hunk a small smile. His stomach was still bubbling with nausea but Hunk’s affirmations were helping.

“Thanks, Hunk. For everything.”

“Anytime, dude,” Hunk said with an easy grin before shutting the Altean picnic basket and handing it to Lance. “Knock ‘em dead, tiger.”

* * *

After Lance securely placed the picnic basket in Black’s cockpit, he made one final stop at his room before getting Keith. He went to the bathroom, messed with his hair for a good five minutes, and assessed himself in the mirror.

He looked...fine.

He was wearing his same old baseball tee and his same old green jacket with the same old jeans he wore every single day; he just wished he had _one_ outfit that was date appropriate, like a classy button-down or jeans that weren’t tattered along the seams--just something to show that he actually _cared_ about how this date was going to go.

Because he did care. He cared a lot.

Lance gave himself one last sad glance in the mirror and took a sharp breath as he slapped both of his cheeks.

“Alright! No more feeling sorry for yourself! You’re gonna romance the socks off of Keith and he’s not gonna care that you’re wearing what you always wear because Keith’s gonna wear what _he_ always wears and he always wears that dumb jacket, so you’re fine,” Lance said to his reflection, pointing and gesticulating at it like he was talking to an old friend.

Sufficiently hyped up, Lance rummaged through his closet for the last thing he needed before he got Keith--flowers.

That morning, while Lance had been on a refugee relocation mission, he had found some time to pluck a few blooms from a nearby field on the sanctuary planet. He had dropped the refugees at the rendezvous point, picked the flowers, and all but ran to his room to hide the gift in his closet, far-and-away from prying eyes.

They were wrapped in some stray cloth Lance had found in one of his drawers and he delicately pulled them out from their hiding place as if they were a child. He placed the bundle on the ground, kneeling beside it, and unwrapped it to reveal a dozen or so tiny violet flowers happily strewn across the off-white fabric beneath them.

They were simple little flowers, so simple that they could have been from earth. They had only four or five big petals each and Lance thought they resembled the poppies that cropped up around the Garrison in the spring. But instead of a bright orange hue, they were a deep purple color that reminded Lance of Keith’s eyes. There had been more exotic-looking flowers in the field he had plucked them from, but Lance had a feeling Keith wouldn’t be into anything too gaudy--that he appreciated a subtle kind of beauty.

With his stomach already tying itself into knots, Lance bunched up the flowers into a modest bouquet. With his free hand, Lance pulled out a thin, shimmering purple ribbon from his pocket and brought it to the bundled teal stems. The ribbon was courtesy of Allura, who hadn’t been able to stop herself from giggling when she found out what it was for.

“ _Earthling courting rituals certainly are_ romantic _,”_ she had teased, causing Lance to blush and stammer out an incoherent explanation that only made her giggle more. Still, she had given him the ribbon and insisted she didn’t need it back, so he’d let the teasing slide.

Lance tied the ribbon around the stems with a slow hand and did his best to make a full, even bow. It didn’t look quite right, so he redid it. And redid it. And redid it. And redid it.

Eventually, after many mumbled curses under his breath, he finally got the bow to look straight off of a Pinterest board and he smiled at his handiwork.  

 _I hope he likes it_ , he thought and it sent a whole new wave of butterflies to his stomach.  He was seriously about to take Keith out on a date. And give him flowers.

Oh, yeah. Yep. Lance was definitely going to be sick.

Letting out a groan, Lance got to his feet with purple poppies in hand and took a few calming breaths.

_You got this. It’s fine. It’s going to be fine._

With one last deep breath, Lance straightened his posture and headed out his door to the hall.

Keith’s room was only strides away from his own, but with how fast his heart was pounding in his chest, the door felt miles away and his feet sluggish.

 _I really didn’t think I’d be this nervous_ , he mused, his mouth suddenly dry.

He tried to calm himself again and kept coming back to one thought: _He likes you. He told you he liked you._

As true as it was, Lance had found it hard to believe in the week since Keith confessed--like it was all something he had dreamed.

 

_It happened after a particularly scary battle, because...of course it did. It was Lance’s first fight in Black after they’d exposed the fake Shiro and brought back the real one from the astral plane. Battered and emaciated, he was in no shape to take up the mantle of Voltron’s head just yet._

_Keith had tried going back to Black, as that seemed like the natural order of things, but Black refused him. Somehow, it turned out that Black had set his sights on Lance instead, while Red welcomed Keith back with open jaws._

_At first, Lance had truly not been able to understand how he could be worthy of the mantle when he hadn’t been only months before._

 

_“It can’t be me!” Lance said, stepping out of Black’s cockpit. “It doesn’t make sense.”_

_“Of course it does,” Allura reassured him ._

_Lance shook his head. “But I’m the goofball, remember? I tried before and it didn’t work.”_

_“I know I called you a goofball before, but you know that’s not_ all _you are, right?” Pidge asked, her brows tilted up to show big, guilt-ridden eyes._

_“Yeah, man!” Hunk said with an enthusiastic smile. “And what matters is that it works now. The Black Lion chose you!”_

_“But I--” Lance started but was interrupted when he felt a warm weight on his shoulder._

_“Lance,” Keith started, his eyes piercing and determined. “Do you remember what you said to me? When the Black Lion first chose me?”_

_“I--”_

_“You said ‘the Black Lion wouldn’t choose any one it didn’t think was worthy to lead Voltron.’ I respect its choice,” Keith one corner of his mouth raising in a smirk. “You should too.”_

_Lance felt his eyes widen as he heard his own words repeated back to him in a strange, reverse Déjà_ _Vu. He never thought he’d be here. He never thought he’d see Keith looking at him like that--like he really and truly respected Lance as an equal, as a_ leader _._

_“It should be you,” Lance admitted, voice low enough that only the two of them could hear._

_“No, it shouldn’t. It should have been this way the first time we switched,” Keith said with such easy sincerity that it whisked away the worst doubts from Lance’s head._

_And everything just clicked into place, one right after the other. If Keith really believed in him enough to say that, then Lance knew he could believe in himself too. Black believed in him, the team believed in him, and most incredibly,_ Keith _believed in_ _him._

_And if that just wasn’t the nail in the coffin._

_Slowly, and then all at once, a swooping feeling flew through Lance’s chest, then it slid down to his stomach where it lived for several moments. Heat gathered at his cheeks and suddenly, he was seeing Keith completely differently, or perhaps not differently, but clearer, less obscured. It was all so obvious now--why Lance had never once stopped watching Keith, why he flinched away from getting closer to him, why he would do anything to keep him from making a pained face._

_He liked Keith. He_ really _liked Keith. More than anyone he had ever had feelings for before._

_And he was terrified. This wasn’t just some crush that popped up overnight; this was deep-seated and lasting. This was rooted all the way back to the Garrison where Lance’s eyes seemed to find Keith no matter what, like he was a single lit lantern on a darkened street._

_Lance liked him. Probably always had._

_Lance liked him_ so much.

 

_Which is probably why Lance took such a heavy hit for him in battle._

_A few days later, they were up against a huge Galran fleet and Keith was being his usual, reckless, self-sacrificing self by charging in head-first without so much as the go-ahead from Lance--y’know, the newly appointed Black Paladin--and got himself into a sticky situation._

_“KEITH!” Lance bellowed. “What are you doing?!”_

_“Drawing their fire!”_

_Lance growled low under his breath as he watched the Red Lion lead away a platoon of sentries and a large battle-ready ship that had some cannon-like weapon on top of it--something they’d never seen before._

_Lance knew what Keith was doing--using the Red Lion’s speed to bring attention and draw enemies away to create an opening for the rest of the team. It was a common Red Lion maneuver, but Lance didn’t want to try it when there were huge, overpowered tanks with cannons on the field that they knew nothing about._

_Keith had always been a wild card, but now it was putting him in real danger because one of the tanks that followed him was firing up its cannon and aiming right at Red._

_Red, whose armor was of the weakest among them. Red, who had been Lance’s Lion only the other day. Red, who held Keith inside him._

Keith.

_And Lance, in true former-Red-Paladin style, acted without thinking. He raced his way to Red, some primal instinct taking over as he maneuvered the unfamiliar Lion to where Red–– where Keith––was. From his peripherals he saw the cannon light up and with a hard thrust of his controls, Lance threw Black in the line of fire just in the knick of time._

_Then, darkness._

 

_“LANCE! Lance, you better answer me or I swear to--”_

_“Keep your shirt on, Mullet,” Lance said, his voice groggy and strained. “I have a massive headache.”_

_“_ Lance! _" Keith called and something in his voice made Lance’s insides melt. It was a voice thick with emotion, but Lance wouldn’t dare let himself hope it was full of fondness and relief as well._

_There were calls from his worried teammates, but he hushed them quickly. “I’m okay guys, but we need to end this quickly. We need Voltron.”_

_There were no protests as they got in formation and for the very first time, Lance got to say the words “Form Voltron!” His headache and pulsating ribs didn’t bother him much after that._

 

_When they got back to the castleship, the others congratulated Lance on his first mission as Black Paladin and encouraged him to get to a cryopod for his head and ribs._

_There was someone noticeably missing from the celebration and it took Lance less than a tick to realize it was Keith. As the others gave him gentle hugs and pats on the back, Lance’s eyes flitted around the room for the one person he wanted to see the most. Both of them had nearly died and Keith couldn’t even be bothered to check in on him?_

_It filled Lance with a sudden, dreadful anger that boiled and bubbled in his chest so horribly that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry or throw things or both. Instead of either, he told the others he would head to the cryopods after he took care of something and proceeded to stomp his way to Keith’s room with helmet in hand._

_Why would he just head off without so much as asking “Are you alright?” or “Is everyone okay?”_

_What kind of jerk didn’t even check in with his friends after a close call? Didn’t he care about the team?_ _Keith may have sounded worried when Lance was waking up from his blackout, but he hadn’t asked how he was--just looked for confirmation he was alive. Can’t form Voltron if the Black Paladin is dead, right?_

_And what was with him not taking Lance’s orders? Wasn’t he the one who said Lance should have been Black Paladin in the first place?_

Or maybe, _Lance thought, turning down a corner to the living quarters,_ maybe he changed his mind because he doesn’t like how you lead.

_Lance grit his teeth at the thought and clutched the rim of his helmet tight within his fist. If that really were the case--that Keith was just so disappointed in Lance’s first turn in Black that he couldn’t even stand to look at him--well, then Lance was about to get a whole lot angrier. Sure, his first run hadn’t gone perfectly, but neither had Keith’s! In fact, Lance’s had gone better than Keith’s if he was any judge._

Maybe that’s why he’s mad. He’s just jealous of what a good job you did, _Lance thought, another wave of hot frustration rolling through his chest. Lance had been jealous when Keith was first picked by the Black Lion, but did he storm off like a child? No, he supported Keith and called him “team leader” and helped him. Did Lance matter so little to Keith that he couldn’t even bring himself to support Lance past one fight?_

Whoa, whoa, whoa, _his mind interjected._ You’re getting ahead of yourself _._

_Lance let out a half-sigh, half-groan as he approached Keith’s room as some of his anger dissipated._

Okay. You know what? I’m jumping to conclusions. I’m gonna talk to Keith calmly and see what’s up. It’s probably fine and I’m just over-thinking _, Lance thought, attempting to soothe his own frustrated anxiety._ He told you he respected the Black Lion’s choice. Keith wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it.

_Still filled with adrenaline and gumption, Lance didn’t bother to knock as he came hurtling into Keith’s room._

_He quickly regretted that decision as he came face-to-face with a half-naked Keith, his black undersuit half-way off and bunched around the waist._

_“_ What _are you doing?!” Keith admonished, his eyebrows knit tightly and his eyes full of a piercing anger that shot something sharp right through Lance’s chest. Much to Lance’s chagrin, he didn’t bother to pull up his body suit, but instead just straightened to glare at him._

_“I--um,” Lance stammered, his face hot. “We need to talk.”_

_“And that can’t wait until I’m dressed?”_

_“No--I mean, it_ can _but--no. No, it can’t wait,” Lance said, holding his ground and glaring back at Keith with just as much intensity. “I want to talk to you.”_

 _Keith was the first to break as he looked away and slipped his arms back into his body suit, something Lance was eternally grateful for. “Well, maybe_ I _don’t want to talk to_ you _.”_

_The words, hot and sharp, cut through Lance and emboldened him with an anger that could only come from hurt._

_“What’s_ with _you?! We all almost just_ died _and you’re over here brooding without so much as a word to us, and for what? Are you seriously that annoyed with how I run things? Because you made it pretty clear you thought I was up for the job the other day and I’m having a really hard time trying to figure out why you’re acting like such a jerk. Do you just not want me to be the leader_ that _much?”_

_“You think I’m mad ‘cause you’re the leader?” Keith asked, spitting the words out with a scoff._

_“I don’t know why you’re mad! You just sulked off without even letting any of us know if you were okay! I still don’t even know if you’re hurt or not! I’m fine, by the way. Just a bruised rib or two but thanks for asking.”_

_At that, Keith’s face softened and Lance saw a flash of guilt streak across his face, but it was gone quickly as Keith crossed his arms over his chest and looked away before mumbling, “...You’re so stupid.”_

_“Excuse me?!” Lance asked, incredulous._

_“You shouldn’t have gotten hurt at all! There was no reason for you to put yourself in front of the missle like that and yet you--”_

_“You’re actually mad at me for trying to_ save _you?!”_

 _“Yes! You took a direct hit! You could have been seriously hurt, you could have been_ killed--”

_“Black’s armor is way tougher than Red’s so anything that could have happened to me would have been tenfold for you, so I don’t see your point!”_

_Keith growled. “Yeah, I know you don’t ‘cause you’re stupid!”_

_Trembling with anger, Lance tossed his helmet to the side and closed some of the distance between them, his lips curling in a snarl._

_“If I’m so stupid, then why don’t you spell it out for me, huh? Because for the life of me, I can’t understand why you’re so mad over me trying to keep you alive!”_

_“If you keeping me alive means getting yourself killed, then yeah, I’m pretty freakin’ mad about it.”_

_“We’re a team, Keith! We protect each other!”_

_“I keep telling you I don’t want your protection if it means getting yourself killed!”_

_“Oh, so this is some big show of your machismo?! Can’t handle being saved sometimes, is that it!?”_

_“No, you idiot!”_

_“Then, what?!”_

_“I LIKE YOU!” Keith blurted, face red and eyes fixed on Lance’s. “Do you get it now, genius? I don’t want you dead because of me and you’re always_ doing _stuff like this and I’m sick of it so just--”_

 _“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Lance said, leaning back and holding up his hands in a defensive position. “Wait a second, we need to back track. You...you_ like _me?”_

_There was a pause and suddenly, the hardened, tight expression on Keith’s face morphed into something soft and embarrassed and pink. The transformation made Lance’s already thundering heart come crashing to a halt._

_Keith, visibly deflated now, grabbed the bicep of his relaxed arm and looked at the ground. “I...you heard me.”_

_“I did, but,” Lance started, his voice a soft whisper as all the anger and frustration dissolved from his body like sugar stirred in hot tea. “You gotta...be clear or I won’t understand. I’m stupid, remember?”_

_“I--sorry. I shouldn’t have called you that I was just--”_

_“It’s okay. I know. But...when you say ‘like’, do you mean...as a friend?” Lance asked and a whole different kind of tension filled the air than the one that passed between them moments before. They both went quiet--Lance looking on at Keith as Keith studied his bedroom floor, deep in thought._

_It felt like the silence stretched for ages and the only sound Lance could hear was his own blood pumping hard in his eardrums. He didn’t even dare to breathe as there was something terrifyingly fragile about the moment--as if the slightest movement would pop it like a soap bubble._

_Eventually, Lance watched Keith’s head lift up to meet his eyes and he felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of Keith’s expression; it was open and vulnerable and there was a frightened wideness to his eyes._

_“No,” Keith breathed, barely audible. “Not as a friend.”_

_And Lance went very still._

_Because this did not compute. Keith? Liking Lance?_ Like-liking _Lance? Nope, didn’t register with any plausible scenarios in Lance’s head. Lance had already filed Keith away as one of those “Not on Your Life” crushes that needed to be smothered immediately to minimize as much painful pining as possible--so this_ really _wasn’t making sense._

_“I--Keith, really?”_

_Keith’s face darkened into a deeper shade of red as he looked away and hugged his arms closer to him. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have--you can just forget it. I just, um,” he said, moving one hand rub at the base of his neck. “Look, the point is I would really rather you not sacrifice yourself for me like that, so just cut it out...”_

_Lance watched Keith talk and marveled at the way he fidgeted and blushed. He’d never seen Keith like this ever and it was suddenly hard to deny that Keith was telling the truth. As Lance slowly began accepting this new realization, all he could do was gape at Keith with a slack jaw and wide eyes._

_“...I know you want to save everybody, but you’re the Black Paladin now so you’ve got to think of yourself too--”_

_“Do you wanna go on a date with me?”_

_The words slipped out of Lance’s mouth before he could think them over, but as he said it, he felt odd, happy courage wash over him. He stood tall and looked at Keith directly, his gaze unwavering and watched Keith snap up his head to look at him with round eyes._

_“I--_ Lance. _No, you don’t have to do that. I don’t want your pity--”_

 _“Keith, if that’s really what you think then_ you’re _the stupid one,” Lance said, rolling his eyes as his lips quirked into a smile. He found himself getting closer to Keith and with an easy confidence, he took one of Keith’s hands in his own. “I like you too.”_

_A small gasp left Keith’s mouth at the confession and Lance found his smile widening. Keith was cute like this._

_Keith’s free hand moved up to his face to cover a bit of the open and blushing expression there as he processed the information._

_“We’re...we’re Paladins. There’s a_ war _. We can’t just--”_

_“No, hey,” Lance started, holding Keith’s hand tighter. “Don’t do that. Come on, that’s not fair. We’re Paladins, but we’re also people...we deserve normal things. Good things. So, don’t--don’t give me that. If we like each other then I wanna give this thing a shot. What do you say?”_

_Lance gave Keith a warm, hopeful smile as his thumb lightly brushed back-and-forth against Keith’s knuckles. The motion caused Keith’s hand to twitch but then grip back with the gentlest of pressures. His face was still a vision of red but was also scrunched into an uncomfortable, almost grumpy expression as his brows were knit and his mouth was set in a hard line._

Cute _, Lance thought madly as his heart hammered against his chest--anxious for an answer._

_But Keith deflated once again and, looking down at their clasped hands, his face relaxed into something sad and defeated._

_“I don’t know, Lance. I...I don’t know how to do_ this _,” he admitted, voice hushed and low. It caused a knife to twist in Lance’s chest as it was so clear to him how much it pained Keith to say the words. He gave Keith’s hand a squeeze and took a baby step closer._

_“Hey, I don’t either,” Lance said, his volume matching Keith’s. “We can figure it out together. Just like how we figured out how to be a team.”_

_Keith’s eyes floated up to meet Lance’s, but then darted to the corner of the room beyond Lance’s shoulder._

_“You make it sound so easy.”_

_“Well, why can’t it be easy? Why does it have to be hard? Everything else about our lives is hard--why can’t we have one easy thing, y’know? I mean, I’m not saying there won’t be complications or anything but, I don’t know, look,” Lance said, raising their clasped hands to call attention to them, “Holding hands is pretty easy. We’re already knocking it out of the park. Best hand holders in the universe.”_

_At that, the corners of Keith’s mouth twitched upward and he let out a single huff of laughter. “Leave it to you to brag about something like hand holding.”_

_“Eh, where does modesty really get anybody anyway?” Lance asked, unable to contain his smile. He was so nervous that Keith would refuse him, find some dramatic reasoning as to why they couldn’t be together, but another part of him--a bigger part of him--had a feeling Keith’s resolve wasn’t particularly strong on this one._

_Keith’s tight-lipped smile set in just a little deeper, revealing a single dimple on his left cheek and Lance had a sudden, overwhelming urge to press his lips to it._

Whoa, slow down there, Casanova _, he told himself, but it was hard when his romantic heart was in a dimly lit room with a cute boy wearing a cute smile and an even cuter blush, as some sort of electric energy passed between them--an energy that could only really be conjured by the irrevocable knowledge that they both_ liked _each other. It had Lance’s head drunk with all kinds of soft, affectionate thoughts, but he settled for the palpable warmth in his hand and restrained himself._

_“Not very far, I guess,” Keith said, disrupting Lance’s thoughts. The ghost of a smile was still on his lips as he brought his free hand up to rub at the base of his neck again, his eyes finally settling to look at Lance directly. It made Lance realize how little Keith had looked at him throughout this entire conversation because his mouth went dry and a hard lump formed in his throat when he did. “So...a date, huh?”_

_Now it was Lance’s turn to blush. He felt the heat rise instantly to his face and his eyes widen, but his face soon melted into a full-toothed grin after he let out a shaky laugh._

_“Yeah, man! I’ll pick you up at your door, bring you flowers--the whole deal! Just leave it to me.”_

_Keith let out a little huff of a laugh and shook his head. “Okay, fine. When?”_

_“As soon as we get a free day! Allura said we’d have a little break once we finished settling things on Assix so…”_

_“Then, it’s a date,” Keith said, smiling--a real smile with pearly whites, dimples, and everything. Lance returned it in kind._

_“It’s a date.”_

_They grew quiet, both grinning and happy, but the air was still buzzing with this exciting revelation and slowly, their smiles began to fade. Their hands were still connected, but the silence made the contact feel like fire against Lance’s palm as--unbidden by him--his eyes flicked to catch a glimpse of Keith’s lips. They were a pale pink, slightly chapped, and the bottom one was just a bit more fuller than the top one._

_And they made Lance’s heart race._

_He snapped his eyes back to Keith’s but found Keith’s eyes downcast and with a sudden lurch of his heart, Lance realized Keith was looking at his lips too. It was a brief glance as Keith’s eyes came back up half-a-second later, but they were blown wide--nervous and scared like a spooked animal’s._

Not now _, Lance told himself, slipping his hand out of Keith’s and taking a step back. His hand felt cold instantly._

_“Well, best be heading off to the ol’ Cryopod. Bruised ribs and all that--”_

_“Oh, god, Lance I completely forgot. Are you okay? Do you need--”_

_“Nuh nuh nuh! I’m fine, I’m fine. Just need a varga in there and I’ll be good as new,” Lance said, grabbing his discarded helmet and backing up towards the door. “I’ll uh, I’ll see you soon, Keith. Get some sleep, okay?”_

_“Yeah, okay.”_

_“Bye, Keith.”_

_“Bye, Lance.”_

_With that, Lance turned to the now open door and angled his head to give Keith one last look before stepping out. Keith’s smile had returned, but this time it was sweeter and full of something that made butterflies flutter in Lance’s stomach at alarming rates. Lance felt his own face melt into an expression he knew would be embarrassing if anyone else saw and left the room, the door whooshing closed behind him._

_Lance headed for the Cryopods, the dopey grin on his face not once wavering._

 

The week after was full to the brim with refugee missions and diplomatic meetings that kept them both far too busy to talk much, but there was enough time for soft smiles and to figure out a set time for their date, but it also left too much time for Lance to over think. Logically, he knew Keith liked him, but he couldn’t help but worry that maybe those feelings were fleeting. He kept telling himself he was working himself up for nothing, but the negative thoughts kept snaking into his mind.

 _It’s normal_ , he thought. _It’s normal to be nervous over a first date_.

Standing in front of Keith’s door, Lance took a deep breath and raised a fist with his free hand.

“You got this. He’s gonna love it,” he mumbled to himself and with gritted teeth, he knocked on the door.

Almost immediately, the door slid open to reveal Keith clad in his usual dark clothes and red, cropped jacket--so immediately, in fact, that Lance wondered if he had been waiting by it when Lance knocked.

“Oh, uh--hey!” Lance said, an embarrassing tremor slipping into his voice.

“Hi.”

“I, uh--” Lance started, his nerves already getting the better of him as he searched for something charming to say. Mercifully, his mind remembered the flowers in his hands and he perked up with the realization. “Oh! These are for you!”

Lance offered the flowers to Keith, his face growing redder by the instant; he really thought he’d be cooler about this whole date thing, but apparently he was very, very wrong. He was the opposite of cool about this whole date thing if his alarmingly fast heart rate was anything to go by.

Keith stared at the flowers with wide eyes and abruptly, his face burst into a shade of candy apple red. In response, he wrapped one arm around his waist, while the other came to cover the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

“Y-you seriously got me flowers?” Keith asked, voice strained.

“I--yeah, I did! Oh man, it’s too much isn’t it? I should have known you wouldn’t--”

Lance didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Keith swiped the flowers from his hands and began stomping down the hallway.

“I like the color,” he said over his shoulder, his face still crimson and his eyes not meeting Lance’s. He held the flowers carefully in his hand and Lance beamed after him before jogging to catch up. . Keith wasn't grumpy because he didn't like the gesture, he was grumpy because he was _embarrassed_.  

“Thought you might,” Lance said with a grin, a little bit of his confidence coming back. “Hey, you’re walking pretty fast there. You know where you’re going?”  

“Since you actually got me _flowers_ , I’m guessing you’re taking me somewhere in Black,” he said, eyes forward.

“Whoa, nothing gets past you. But yup, we’re going on a little excursion!”

“Please tell me you didn’t find some space movie theater or something. I can only handle so many cliches.”

“Aw, so you don’t like the flowers?”

“I like them!” Keith said, this time meeting Lance’s eyes as they walked, his face serious and earnest. Lance couldn’t help but dissolve into laughter. It was too much. Flustered Keith was _too much_.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Lance said as he caught his breath. “Naw, no movie. We’re keepin’ it pretty low key, but it’s a surprise.”

“Of course it is,” Keith mumbled, his face finally starting to calm to its usual color. Lance was just about to make a joke about how embarrassed Keith seemed when a smell hit his nose. It was something fragrant and woodsy--like cedar and lemon, possibly even lavender mixed in there. But none of that was _quite_ right; the smell was also foreign, something beyond Lance had ever smelled before.

“Are--are you wearing _cologne_?” Lance asked, blown away by the thought.

And just like that, Keith’s face was redder than Rudolph’s nose again.

“I--! It’s not--it was a gift from Zaxis. They gave it to me during the celebratory parade as a thanks so I just thought--”

“It’s really nice, man. I like it. Bet it’d be super pricey back home,” Lance said with a smile, his chest filling with warmth knowing that Keith had made the effort to put it on for their date. It reminded him that Keith was just as nervous and excited about it as Lance was.

They walked to the hangar in silence, both too nervous to say anything else. 

* * *

 

The ride to Hinbar, a large planet on the edge of the Globernt system, was easy enough. Lance tried to ease Keith’s obvious nerves by speaking with him as he usually did. At some point, the conversation stopped feeling so strained and awkward, and settled into their familiar rhythm--teasing and playing, talk of sick Voltron maneuvers, and castle gossip. By the time they landed on Hinbar, Lance had nearly forgotten they were even on a date and not just hanging out, on their way to take care of some official Defenders-of-the-Universe chore.

Black made for an easy topic of conversation and a comfortable, private place to be with each other.

 

_“God, I’m never gonna get used to Black’s controls after Red.”_

_“It’s clunky right?”_

_“Sooo clunky.”_  


It wasn’t until they landed on Hinbar that Lance’s stomach sank once again in excited nervousness. Lance had picked out the planet for its scenic views and the, quite frankly, romantic vibe it gave off. It was a large, mostly uninhabited planet covered in lush yellow grass and trees with dark brown bark and cotton-candy pink leaves.

The perfect place for a picnic.

\--And for Lance to lose his lunch.

As Black gently landed on the planet’s surface, Keith and Lance both got quiet as they took in the view.

“Where are we?” Keith asked, standing over Lance as he leaned on his pilot seat.

“Planet called Hinbar. Coran told me that none of the inhabitants have, y’know, Altean-like intelligence but different alien races come here to camp and stuff,” Lance said as he stood up and went to the back of Black’s cockpit. “So, the atmosphere is breathable and everything.”

“And what are we doing here?”

“We,” Lance started, taking the Altean picnic basket and an extra blanket he brought from the castle from one of Black’s storage compartments, “are gonna watch the suns set.”

Keith’s eyebrows knitted in confusion as a blush dusted his cheeks. “Wait. Is that a--?”

“Ayy Boo-Boo it’s a pic-a-nic basket!” Lance said, busting out his best-worst Yogi Bear impression with a wink.

“I’m not even going to pretend like I get that reference.”

“Kids today. So uncultured,” Lance said, rolling his eyes and leading the way out of Black. “Come on, we ain’t got all day. We have sunsets to watch!”

Lance heard Keith sigh behind him. “So, flowers and a picnic at sunset? Really?”

“Hey, I told you. When I said the whole deal, I meant the _whole_ deal. Be prepared to be romanced, Samurai,” Lance said, feigning confidence and sending Keith one of his signature crooked smiles. Keith sighed again, shaking his head, but Lance didn’t miss the small smile on his face.  

Exiting Black, they found a nearby grassy knoll under a giant pink tree, its pastel leaves  jostled by a gentle breeze and falling like snow around them.

Lance stood under the tree with Keith closely behind and surveyed the area, paying close attention to their view of the horizon.

“Seems as good a place as any,” he concluded, placing the picnic basket at the tree’s base. “Help me with the blanket?”

“Sure.”

Lance unrolled the blanket and threw one side to Keith before they spread it neatly on the yellow grass.

“Good sir,” Lance said, gesturing for Keith to sit down. With a good-natured roll of his eyes, Keith sat down on the blanket and watched as Lance brought back the high-tech Altean picnic basket.

He placed it between them and opened the lid, taking out plates, cutlery, and containers of Hunk’s lovingly made food. Lance was grateful for the distraction laying out the food provided him; it helped ease his nerves as every passing minute made Lance more self-aware of the situation--they were on a _date._

And, of course, he knew that. He’d thought of little else for the past week, but it hadn’t truly dawned on him the weight of what it meant. Dating meant holding hands, whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, pet names and...and _kissing_ . After they had landed on the planet--one chosen based on its romantic reputation--it was really starting to hit Lance, that this might _be_ something.  

He was asking Keith to consider stepping into uncharted territory, a place far beyond their old relationship--a place that was deeper, scarier. Keith had said before that he didn’t know how to do the whole relationship thing, but neither did Lance, if he was honest. He had some vague ideas based on stories from his older siblings and old romantic movies, but they’d really only taught him chivalry. What about...everything else? How do you stop constantly second-guessing every action, every word? When’s the right time to label the relationship? What about kissing? How does it _actually_ work?

Laying out another container, Lance snuck a look at Keith. He was looking down at a container, opening it to assess its contents and Lance felt a lump form in his throat because...because he looked really good and Lance was suddenly reminded why he was here in the first place. Keith’s eyelashes were long and dark and they fanned over his clear skin gently like petals floating on water. There were a couple of the light pink leaves in his hair, nested unnoticed by their wearer, and they popped prettily against the black curtain of his tresses. The lighting wasn’t helping either as the suns were on their way to the horizon, bathing Keith in golden sunshine making him look like a reincarnated Apollo, gracing the mortals with a visit from his home on Mt. Olympus.

But worst of all were his lips. Lance gazed upon them with a sudden need to swallow because he’d only ever noticed them once before, and they were just as hypnotizing now as they were then. They were some shade between his jacket and the leaves around them--pink and saturated, but natural. They were clearly chapped because of course, Keith had never moisturized a day in his life, but they were also full and pretty and--

And Lance had to look away because surely, the rate at which his heart was beating was not healthy.

It wasn’t that Lance hadn’t thought about kissing Keith--far from it--but now that there was an actual possibility he might be able to, everything was different. Before, the idea was just some bittersweet day dream that fogged up his thoughts from time-to-time. Now, the thought was shaking him to his core, hitting him with such a strong desire to reach out and close the distance between them that it was terrifying.

There had been a moment, when they first confessed, where Lance almost _had_ kissed him, a moment where he felt like it would be an inevitability that they would crash together. But he had stopped himself, not wanting to take things too fast for Keith. It was a fleeting moment, one filled to the brim with revelations and feelings and not a lot of thought, so it was incomparable to where Lance was at now--swimming in thoughts. _So_ many thoughts.

“Whoa, are these Hunk’s green bologna sandwiches?”

“Huh?”

“Are these Hunk’s green bologna sandwiches?” Keith repeated, shaking Lance from his trance.

“Oh!” Lance said, perking up with a smile. “Yeah! He made them for us.”

“Isn’t the bologna hard to make?”

“Not too bad with two people working on it.”

“But...you don’t even like the green bologna? You don’t like bologna period.”

“Oh, well…” Lance started, scratching the back of his neck. He hadn’t really prepared for Keith to call him out like this about it, because yeah, Lance _hated_ bologna and anything that even remotely tasted like it. “It’s your favorite so…”

Keith blinked at him in quiet surprise before his face softened and he looked back down at the container holding the sandwich as the smallest, fondest smile quirked on his face. “That’s...that’s really nice, Lance. Thanks.”

Lance’s heart hammered at the sweet expression on Keith’s face and he felt his own heat from the compliment. “Oh, yeah. N-no problem.”

Embarrassed, Lance dove back into the picnic basket to pull out the last item inside other than the Assixion Selberry cake.

“You still got those flowers?” Lance asked, holding the little white vase he’d snuck into the basket in one hand. Keith nodded once and picked up the little bouquet he had carefully let down on the blanket. He handed them to Lance and Lance put them gently into the vase and then, moving the mostly empty basket behind him, he placed it in the center of their spread as a little romantic accent and pop of color.

“Wow, you really thought of everything, huh?” Keith asked, surveying the flowers so intently Lance wondered if he was trying to set them on fire with his mind.

“Whole deal, remember?’” Lance asked, and he meant it to sound sly and charming, but instead it just sounded small and vulnerable.

Keith looked up then, his eyes a little widened, but they quickly softened and were accompanied by a smile.

He nodded. “Whole deal.”

And for just a beat or two, they got trapped in eye contact until Lance had to look away for his own good.

“Well, we got sunsets, flowers, and food. Think we’re all set!” Lance said, gesturing to each line item.

“Good, ‘cause I’m starving.” Keith said, reaching for a sandwich and immediately diving in. He sighed after taking the first bite and gazed at the sandwich fondly. “‘So good.”

“Hunk’s a genius. I don’t know how he does it.”

“Yeah, me neither. My idea of cooking has always been sticking something in the microwave.”

Lance snorted. “How have you survived this long?”

“I honestly don’t know. I used to try and help my dad in the kitchen when I was little but after I set the curtains on fire, I was permanently banned.”

“You _what_?! How?!”

Keith shrugged, taking another bite and talking through it. “My dad asked the same thing.”

“Oh my god, you must have been a _terror_ ,” Lance said, laughing.

“Oh, like you were any different.”

“Are you kidding? I was an angel.”

“I have a hard time believing that.”

“And what’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“It means I don’t buy that you were a well behaved kid at all.”

“Oh, I wasn’t, but my parents always thought I was. Being the baby comes with all sorts of privileges. On one hand, I was, y’know, _the baby_ , so my punishments were never as rough as the older ones got and on the other, I gained all the knowledge from my brothers and sisters on what _not_ to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, I found out pretty quickly that if I got caught--just tell the truth. The punishment’s always less severe if you’re honest about it. Marco taught me how to sneak out of the house without mom noticing and Veronica got grounded for _sooo_ long when she came home with an F on her report card one time, so I always kept my grades up after that. Just, I dunno, weird little stuff you pick up along the way. I hardly ever got in trouble as a kid. Iverson probably stuck me in detention more times than my mom ever grounded me.”

“Huh. Yeah if I remember correctly, he got pretty fed up with you.”

“Oh, _now_ you remember me from the Garrison?” Lance asked with a scoff and a faux-angry stab at his salad. “And you’re one to talk. He suspended you after you took out his _eye_.”

“Hey, Iverson was a jerk and he deserved it.”

“You got me there. Not gonna lie, the day I found out what you did, that was one of the best days of _my life_. Dude needed to be knocked down a peg.”

“Not to mention it got me out of your hair,” Keith said a little sadly as Lance swallowed a bite of salad.

“Oh, well…” Lance sighed. “Look, Keith I--there was a lot about that time that was _complicated_ and I--”

“No, Lance, stop. It’s okay. You don’t have to--”

“No, but I should,” Lance said, putting down his plate and meeting Keith’s eyes with fierce determination. “I was jealous of you. _Really_ jealous of you, but I was also kind of in _awe_ of you, like, man you were so _cool_. You were so cool and you never gave anyone else the time of day. You just practiced in the simulator day-in-and-day-out and it was just intimidating and I think even then there was y’know…” Lance strained for the words. “Some attraction there, but you were just _so_ far out of my league and so talented and everybody _knew_ you were so talented and were _saying_ you were so talented so I was just--”

“Whoa, wait hold on. Lance are you telling me--since the Garrison?!”

Lance winced. “Um, well. Yes? I mean, I didn’t know it was crush at the time, but looking back it totally was ‘cause you know, as I said, you’re talented and uh, a good looking guy so…”

 _You really didn’t need that last part!_ His mind screamed as he quickly realized what a totally _unchill_ thing that was to say.

“Oh,” Keith said with thinly veiled shock on his face. His eyes floated down to his half-eaten sandwich and Lance was panicking because he knew he had just ruined everything.

“Keith, I--”

“That moment after we captured Sendak.”

“What?”

“I know you don’t remember, but after we captured Sendak you um, you said we made a good team. I didn’t really realize what I was feeling either, but yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s when I...started feeling a certain way.”

Keith was talking to his sandwich as he spoke and as he went on his face slowly became redder and redder. Lance’s heart jumped into his throat at the confession and a quiet “oh” was all he could muster in response.

“And I didn’t forget you,” Keith continued, now looking at Lance. “I just didn’t recognize you at first, but after we got back to my shack, I remembered everything.”

“I--I didn’t forget either.”

“Forget what?”

“The...y’know, the bonding moment. I remembered it.”

“But you said you didn’t.”

“I know. I lied,” Lance admitted, wincing. “Sorry.”

“But why?” Keith asked, brows furrowed.

“Because it made me like you even more than I already did and that was...not okay. You’re so totally out of my league, dude. I thought you liking me was impossible so I just…”

Lance let himself trail off into silence because it had all been said and he was pretty sure that it had just ruined his chances with Keith forever.

 _Way to go, Lance. Never did learn how to keep your mouth shut_ , he thought, unable to meet Keith’s eyes.

“Well…” Keith started and Lance squeezed his eyes shut.

 _Here it comes_ , he thought, waiting for Keith to call off the date and ask to go back to the castle.

“It’s not impossible, because I do.”

Lance’s eyes snapped open to meet Keith’s. “What?”

“I like you,” Keith said, face set in determination and a little pink. “A lot.”

A huge wave of relief washed over Lance as some of the tight muscles in his chest released, letting him breathe a little easier. A goofy grin draped itself across his face, raising the apples of his cheeks so high that it made his eyes crinkle.

“I Iike you a lot too.”

Keith blinked in surprise and his determined expression melted into something meek and embarrassed. He moved a hand to face to cover it a bit and Lance found himself laughing happily at it.

“That’s...cool. Good, I mean.” Keith said and Lance laughed harder. There was something so funny and infectious and _charming_ about flustered Keith that Lance couldn’t help but laugh at him with delight. It must have been funny to Keith too because he let out a couple of restrained huffs of laughter and Lance found himself beaming at him, wholly and completely smitten.

 

They finished their meal at a languid pace--exchanging a couple stories of their admittedly rambunctious selves as children and commenting on how lucky they were to have someone with such incredible culinary skills around as Hunk.

“And now,” Lance said, grabbing the picnic basket from behind him with a flourish, “the pièce de résistance!”

Lance grabbed out the last container from the corner of the basket and held it front of him. With a dramatic and slow movement, Lance opened the container and relished in the way Keith’s eyes lit up at the treasure within.

“Lance.”

“I know.”

“ _Lance._ ”

“I know.”

“Where-? _How-?!_ ”

“Hunk. Some Assixions working in the royal palace kitchens gave him a few slices for the road and he gave me one. Since it was a special occasion and all.”

“Oh my god, Lance.”

“I know,” Lance said, handing Keith a fork. “The honor’s all yours.”

Keith didn’t need to be told twice as he eagerly dug his fork into the soft texture of the cake and brought it to his mouth.

With a sigh he asked, “How will we ever repay him?”

“We never will, Keith. We’re indebted to him for life,” Lance said, taking a bite of his own and nearly moved to tears by the flavor--sweet and light with a pop of tartness at the end.

“Worth it, though.”

 

The cake was devoured within seconds (much to their chagrin) so they cleaned up their mess and placed the basket to the side as the suns hit the horizon and filled the sky with a kaleidoscope of soft pinks, oranges, and yellows. Without a word, they both sat facing the sunsets, leaning their weight behind them into their hands to enjoy the view. The distance between them, Lance noticed, was not very far, but not very close either, but if Lance wanted to, it would be easy to reach out and take Keith’s hand.

And, well, he wanted to.

But he didn’t.

Instead, they watched the suns, one larger and seemingly closer than the other, slowly disappear behind the horizon in a comfortable silence.

Lance kept sneaking glances at Keith’s profile in between long stretches of sunset viewing, a strange impatience unfurling in his veins. Again, Lance was struck by how beautiful Keith was with the glow of the sunset cascading around him and a couple leaves still delicately stuck in his hair. It made something warm and heavy roll in his stomach and drum up in his chest, and suddenly, the desire to hold his hand, or touch him somehow was overwhelming.

 _Nothing risked, nothing gained,_ his mind supplied and the weakest part of him was far too easily swayed by that logic.

Lance adjusted his position so that his hands were free and his legs were folded underneath him. He stole tentative glances at the gloved hand closest to him and tried to come up with battle plan on how to seize it.

Should he just do it quickly and grab it? Or should he make his hand take a slow march to Keith’s like a looming predator?

 _Maybe just do it casually, like it’s no big deal_ , he thought, heart pounding loudly in his chest.

Liking that plan the best, he took a deep inhale to ready himself. He eyed the hand again, pinpointing its location for maximum accuracy and tried to tell his racing heart to calm down should Keith hear it.

It didn’t want to listen, however, because as soon as his hand began its journey, all he could hear was his blood pounding in his ears and his heart hammering inside his chest. Still, his hand floated down and down, almost like it was just looking for ground to find purchase on, but instead, found the back of Keith’s hand.

The contact only lasted for a moment before Keith moved it away and Lance’s heart ballooned in pain as he looked up to see what kind of face Keith was making.

“Oh, sorry,” Keith said, looking a little nervous and embarrassed, and Lance realized that Keith hadn’t picked up on his intentions at all and simply assumed he had grazed his hand by accident.

“Oh, no you don’t have to--I meant to--y’know what? Nevermind. Sorry, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Lance said, a blush cropping up on his own face as he tried to backpedal.  

“Oh,” Keith said and Lance could see his mind churning. “Did you mean-- _oh_.”

Realizing he had been found out, Lance turned away, his face in flames. “Sorry, sorry. You can just forget it.”

“No, just...give me a second.”

Lance popped his head back up and watched in wonder as Keith peeled off his fingerless gloves in haste, leaving Lance with his heart thrumming so erratically he thought it would give out.

Gloves off and carefully put aside, Keith shifted closer to Lance, his left knee bumping into Lance’s right one and, like a scene out of a dream, Keith offered his bare hand to him.

Lance blinked at it for a long moment, his breath stopping in his throat at the gesture and his body completely freezing.

Keith flinched his hand back.

“Oh, god, sorry that’s not what you meant at all--”

Then, like an anaconda striking its prey, Lance’s hand flew to Keith’s and wrapped around it.

“That’s what I meant!” Lance said, his head shooting up to meet Keith’s blown-wide eyes and he prayed the conviction in his voice was enough to convince him. “That’s what I wanted, but only if you want to.”

“I...I want to,” Keith said, shy and quiet as his own gaze floated to their hands resting gently on their knees and in a slow, fluid motion he interlaced his fingers with Lance’s.

Lance’s breathing stopped again at the move, but he found his thumb automatically brushing the back of Keith’s hand; it was much softer than he anticipated.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your gloves before,” Lance said, voice just above a whisper, entranced by the movement of his own thumb.

Keith let out an amused “hmph” and gave Lance’s hand a little squeeze. “Yeah well, I only take them off for special occasions.”

Lance looked at Keith and was greeted by one of the softest smiles he’d ever seen, made even softer by the waning sunlight and the gentle breeze blowing pink leaves through the air.

And it hit Lance again, but this time with the force of a test-crash car colliding with a concrete wall--Keith _liked_ him. Keith _really_ liked him. Maybe as much as Lance liked him.

Lance’s chest filled with a thick, liquid warmth as he memorized every nook and cranny of Keith’s smiling face and he came to realize he was smiling too.

 _Kiss him_ , his mind prompted. _This is where you kiss him._

The thought triggered a hitch in his throat and automatically he looked at Keith’s lips and, _g_ _od_ , they looked nice to kiss.

And a part of him, a large part of him, considered it--considered surging forward and slotting their lips together, considered grabbing him by the shoulders and pressing him down into the blanket to get a good angle, but--

 _“I don’t know, Lance. I...I don’t know how to do_ this _.”_

But he couldn’t. This was new for Keith and he needed to respect that, no matter how much he wanted to kiss the dimples right off his face. Lance cared about this way too much to mess it up with his impatience.

Still, there was an overwhelming amount of affection spilling out of him and he had to release it somehow, so he did the first thing that came to mind and raised their woven hands towards his face. With Keith’s pale hand in front of him, Lance pressed his lips to the back of Keith’s hand with a light pressure, his free hand coming in to clasp around their knuckles. His eyes fluttered shut at the touch and he heard a small breath catch in Keith’s throat--a sound which sent fluttering spasms throughout Lance’s entire torso.

Keith’s hand was soft and warm beneath his lips so he let them stay there for just a couple breaths. He pulled back, sighing from his nose, and looked up to see Keith’s face covered in a delightful shade of pink and surprise.

“Thanks for coming out here with me today, Keith,” Lance said, his small smile back as he let their hands travel back to their knees.

“I--thanks for taking me,” Keith said, quiet but genuine.

“Anytime.”

They turned back to the setting suns, the yellows and oranges traded for pinks and purples, and watched them disappear beyond the horizon, their hands clasped to the very end.

 

The ride back to the castle was quiet. Not awkwardly so, but rather peaceful and content, and there was just something nice about being alone and silent and together with Keith. The nightfall on Hinbar had put them both in a somewhat serene mood and there just wasn’t anything that needed to be said between them for now. So they just enjoyed each other’s presence as they flew through the stars back to their home.

When they arrived back, Lance left the picnic basket inside Black, promising to get it later, but Keith made sure to grab the vase before he left. The gesture sent another wave of warmth through his chest, and he sent Keith a soft smile to convey his gratitude at Keith taking such special care of them.

The castle was eerily quiet, even for the late hour, but Lance was secretly pleased when they managed not to bump into a single person on their route back to the living quarters. The last thing he needed was Pidge seeing Keith with flowers in his hand.

They walked slowly, both lamenting the inevitable boring diplomacy work they were sure to be subject to in the morning, and it was then that Lance came to the sad realization that their evening was coming to an end.

And Lance...didn’t want it to.

He wanted to keep being with Keith and forget that he was a Paladin for just a little while longer.

But he couldn’t afford to think like that. He was the Black Paladin now and that meant putting the universe first. They’d have time to hang out later.

As reasonable as that was, when they reached Keith’s door, Lance’s stomach dropped and his smile faltered.

“This is me,” Keith said, unnecessarily.

“This is you,” Lance agreed, his smile sweet and sad.

“Yeah.”

Keith looked down at his feet and shifted a little on the spot, giving Lance a perfect view of his thick, dark eyelashes contrasting against his light skin and his coral-colored lips that grew more inviting by the minute.

With a tiny shake of his head and an inhale, Lance banished the thought and drummed up the courage to ask a question. “So, um, I had a lot of fun tonight and if you’re up for it, would you maybe wanna do it again sometime?”

Keith raised his head, his pretty violet eyes unveiling as he did, and a small smile quirked up on his lips.

“Yeah. Yeah, that would be really great,” Keith started, face soft and slightly pink. “I had a lot of fun too.”

“Oh, good. Okay, well, um…” Lance said, trailing off as the irises of Keith’s eyes were too distracting for him to continue talking, and the two of them suddenly found themselves in a magnetic staring contest.

Lance felt some invisible force pushing him towards Keith almost as if gravity was working on him two-fold. Keith was rooted to the spot, his eyes half-lidded and his lips slightly parted. Lance’s mouth went dry again and he licked his lips in response which brought them to Keith’s awareness as they flicked down to follow the motion.

And Lance’s whole body was trembling with restraint and he knew if he didn’t turn away, didn’t break this spell, he’d kiss Keith full on his pretty mouth and he had already decided that it was too soon.

With his face burning once again, Lance willed himself to take a couple steps back, breaking the swirling, kinetic energy that had built up between them.

“Well, um, I’ll let you get some sleep,” Lance said, scratching at the back of his neck. “See you tomorrow.”

Keith blinked at him, his expression thoughtful and Lance turned around towards his room before he could get sucked in again.

Behind him, Lance heard a gentle _clink_ like Keith just put his vase on the hard castle floor, soon followed by an urgent “Lance!”

Lance looked back over his shoulder and as he did, Keith placed a strong hand on his bicep and on instinct, Lance turned to face him fully, his eyes wide.

The softness in Keith’s face from the hour passed was gone and instead was replaced with furrowed brows and his mouth set in a hard line. It was the same look, Lance noticed, that Keith had whenever he was about to something reckless and dumb, but also brave.

Then, with a steady hand, Keith grabbed at the collar of Lance’s hoodie and pulled, bringing Lance closer to him. Lance didn’t have time to think or react before Keith surged forward to close the distance between them and placed a feather-light kiss to Lance’s lips.

Lance felt his entire body flare with explosions and fireworks at the innocent touch, but before he even got a chance to press back, Keith’s lips were gone.

Keith gazed at him with an expectant look as if to say “Well?” and Lance’s face cracked into an uncontrollable grin.

“Can we try that again?” Lance asked, his voice sliding into a lower register.

Instantly, Keith’s face reddened and he blocked his eyes with a hand. “Oh, god, it was bad wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I just--”

Lance stopped him by grabbing his raised wrist and ushering it back down to the other one. Emboldened, he took a step closer and took both of Keith’s hands in his own, letting them dangle between them.

“Wasn’t bad,” Lance assured, a smirk on his lips. “Just a little... _brief_.”

Keith met Lance’s eyes at that, and slowly, his embarrassed face melted into an absolutely dangerous smile.

“I can work on that,” he agreed, his face close enough now that Lance could feel Keith’s breath on his lips.

“No time like the present.”

Keith hummed his agreement and softly, gently their lips met again, but this time Lance was able to slot them together, carefully angling his head to make the movements easier, smoother. With fiery impatience, Keith’s arms grappled their way to clutch at Lance’s shoulders and Lance responded in kind by wrapping his arms around Keith’s middle to bring them flush together.

Keith broke away for an instant to switch angles, sliding their lips back together with soft, satisfying ease, and when Keith snaked his hand into the hair at the nape of Lance’s neck and gently tugged, it took all of Lance’s willpower not to let out a whimper.

Lance was right--Keith’s lips _were_ chapped, but they felt so warm and plush against his own, he hardly cared. The molten lava that had been bubbling in his chest all night oozed into his entire body and caught fire in all the places Keith held him. At points, he felt like he wasn’t even closing his eyes because he kept seeing a whole spectrum of color popping behind his lids instead of the usual darkness.

And every part of it was intoxicating--the way Keith felt, the way Keith made _him_ feel, and even every single inhale because it meant Lance got a whiff of that enticing alien cologne Keith was wearing--wearing just for him. It all had Lance’s head spinning and floating, unable to find solid ground, but Lance would have been content to fly like this forever.  

Then, too soon, they pulled apart with labored breaths and their eyes meeting for a couple moments as they held on tightly to each other. Lance was the first to break into a goofy grin, but Keith wasn’t far behind and Lance was beside himself with glee when his dimples made an appearance.  

Indulging himself, Lance quickly pressed a full kiss to it and enjoyed the little tremor that went through Keith as he did. Keith moved his face just so to catch Lance’s lips between his again for a final tug before they truly separated, their hands floating back down to their hips and clasped.

“That was...nice,” Lance breathed, rubbing his thumbs along Keith’s knuckles.

“Yeah,” Keith agreed. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Yeah.”

With a last lingering, quiet look, they let their hands go and Keith grabbed his flowers and vase. “We should actually get to bed. It’s late.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early, I’m sure,” Lance said with a good-natured smile, which Keith returned.

“Night, Lance,” Keith said, his door whirring open.

“Night, Keith. Sleep well, okay?”

“Yeah, you too.”

And with one last gaze and shared smile between them, Keith disappeared into his bedroom and as soon he did, Lance breathed out a loud sigh and let his shoulders slump forward. Feeling a little unstable, Lance pressed his back against a wall and sank down along it until he reached the floor.

Now that his feelings were catching up to him, an absolutely giddy and bubbly sensation fizzled through his stomach to his chest and then manifested out his throat in the form of a shaky laugh.

Instantly, he replayed the kisses in his mind on a loop and his face heated faster than Arizona on a summer’s day. He buried his face in his hands and let out a happy, hushed groan, completely astonished by the night’s events.

With a goofy grin plastered on his face, he recounted the evening and lingered on every time Keith reaffirmed that he liked Lance back and, _god_ , if Lance wasn’t the happiest guy in all the universe in that very moment...

 _He likes you,_  he thought for the billionth time that night. _And you like him. You like him_ a lot _._

“This could really be something,” Lance mumbled to himself with a dreamy sigh, a part of him so completely enamored by Keith that his own thoughts were impenitratible to negativity.

 _You might very well be getting yourself a boyfriend here soon, McClain_ , he thought, his goofy grin only growing goofier.

And yeah, if tonight was anything to go by, Lance McClain was definitely on his way to getting himself a boyfriend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope it makes this last week before s6 a little bit more tolerable! 
> 
> Comments are always greatly appreciated and thoroughly cherished <3
> 
> Links: [Tumblr](http://parchmints.tumblr.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/parchmints) | [caard](https://parchmints.carrd.co/) | [my klance fics](https://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&include_work_search%5Brelationship_ids%5D%5B%5D=276512&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&user_id=parchmints)


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